Pavlidou Anastasia, Tolev Avram, Reinhold Daniela, Steinberg Gerrit, Müller Thomas J, Walther Sebastian
Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Bern, University of Bern, Bolligenstr. 111, 3000, Bern 60, Switzerland.
Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Basel and University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2025 Aug 22. doi: 10.1007/s00406-025-02093-x.
Gesture deficits are well-documented in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet research in adults with ASD remains limited. Understanding the nature of gesture deficits in adulthood is essential for identifying their underlying mechanisms and potential impact on communication and daily functioning. The aim of the current study examines gesture performance in adults with ASD to explore whether these deficits persist beyond childhood and how they relate to motor impairments.
We included 19 patients diagnosed with ASD and 19 age-and-gender matched controls. Gesture performance accuracy was assessed in both groups using the Test of Upper Limb Apraxia (TULIA) which was subjectively rated according to the manual by an independent single rater who was blinded to the group allocations, while manual dexterity was assessed using the performance-based coin-rotation task. We further assessed motor impairments in patients using standardized well-established motor scales to examine their potential contributions to gesture accuracy.
Individuals with ASD exhibited significant gesture deficits compared to controls, while manual dexterity remained preserved. Tool-based gestures appeared to be the most affected. Though ASD individuals exhibited numerous motor impairments they were not associated with gesture deficits.
Our findings suggest that gesture deficits in ASD are not driven by the presence of motor impairments. However, given the small sample size, these results should be interpreted with caution. Future studies with larger and more diverse samples are needed to further investigate the mechanisms contributing to gesture difficulties in ASD.
手势缺陷在患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的青少年中已有充分记录，但对成年ASD患者的研究仍然有限。了解成年期手势缺陷的本质对于确定其潜在机制以及对沟通和日常功能的潜在影响至关重要。本研究的目的是检查成年ASD患者的手势表现，以探讨这些缺陷是否在童年之后仍然存在，以及它们与运动障碍的关系。
我们纳入了19名被诊断为ASD的患者和19名年龄及性别匹配的对照组。两组均使用上肢失用症测试（TULIA）评估手势表现准确性，该测试由一名对分组情况不知情的独立单一评分者根据手册进行主观评分，同时使用基于表现的硬币旋转任务评估手部灵活性。我们还使用标准化的成熟运动量表评估患者的运动障碍，以检查它们对手势准确性的潜在影响。
与对照组相比，ASD患者表现出明显的手势缺陷，而手部灵活性保持正常。基于工具的手势似乎受影响最大。尽管ASD患者表现出许多运动障碍，但这些障碍与手势缺陷无关。
我们的研究结果表明，ASD中的手势缺陷并非由运动障碍引起。然而，鉴于样本量较小，这些结果应谨慎解释。未来需要进行更大规模和更多样化样本的研究，以进一步调查导致ASD手势困难的机制。
